Pay per click advertising permits advertisers to create online advertisements and to bid on keywords they believe are relevant to their target market. When a search query is received that includes the keywords, the advertisement is displayed along with relevant search results for the keywords. The on-screen position of the advertisement depends upon the maximum bid amount specified by the advertiser. Higher bids typically result in better placement of the advertisement. The advertiser only pays if a user clicks on the advertisement.
While pay per click advertising has become extremely popular, it remains difficult for an individual or small business to set up an advertising campaign. Writing content for an advertisement, selecting keywords, setting a budget, and bidding on terms can be a complicated, time consuming process that must be repeated for each search engine advertising network at which the advertisement is placed.
Once an advertising campaign has been created, an advertiser must often spend a considerable amount of time determining the keywords that are generating the most referrals from each search engine and replacing low performing keywords with new terms. This also can be a difficult and time-consuming process, especially if the advertisement is placed on multiple search engine advertising networks. Because the software tools for performing these functions are advertising network specific, advertisers are generally required to master multiple tools or to limit their advertising to only one search engine.
It is with respect to these considerations and others that the disclosure made herein is provided.
With the advent of the Internet, online advertising has become widely popular and commonly used among various businesses. In addition to being cost effective and far reaching, it allows businesses to get more information to potential users than more traditional forms of advertising such as publications and media campaigns. Generally, online advertising includes search engine, desktop, email advertising as well as various other forms. Web based advertising systems are typically measured using certain metrics at different stages of the advertisement presentment and fulfillment process. For example, the number of times an advertisement is shown in measures and typically denoted impressions. Impressions have been based on keywords or content that appears on a site. A click on an advertisement is typically measured as a clickthrus. The advertisement copy typically drives the number of clickthrus. When a viewer takes a desired action on the web site of the advertiser that is often referred to as a conversion. Desired actions typically include sign-up, completion of a survey, and a sale. The cost associated with ads is tracked as costs, and sales as sales.
A multitude of techniques has been developed for measuring the success of advertising campaigns online based on various metrics. These practices often involve determinations of how often users tend to perform desired actions in comparison to costs and various other factors involved. However, these systems generally lack an effective and user-friendly approach to analyzing, visualizing and improving online advertising systems. Accordingly, a need exists for a more efficient way to measure and improve such systems. Further, a need exists for an effective user-friendly interface for online advertising systems.